Bem, d. j. (1972). self-perception theory. advances in experimental social psychology, 6, 1-62.

Publications by Daryl J. Bem

Complete text of underlined titles are online and can be accessed directly. Hardcopy reprints of these (as well as most of those not online) can be obtained from the author: .Abstracts of selected articles and a list of the online articles can also be accessed from this link.

Publications 1960-1969:

Publications 1970-1979
Publications 1980-1989
Publications 1990-1999
Publications 2000-

Wallach, M. A., Kogan, N., & Bem, D. J. (1962). Group influence on individual risk taking.Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 65, 75-86.

Bem, D. J. (1964). An Experimental Analysis of Beliefs and Attitudes. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Michigan.

Wallach, M. A., Kogan, N., & Bem, D. J. (1964). Diffusion of responsibility and level of risk taking in groups. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 68, 263-274.

Lane, H. & Bem, D. J. (1965). A Laboratory Manual for the Control and Analysis of Behavior. Belmont, Calif.: Brooks/Cole.

Bem, D. J. (1965). An experimental analysis of self-persuasion. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1, 199-218.

Bem, D. J., Wallach, M. A., & Kogan, N. (1965). Group decision-making under risk of aversive consequences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1, 453-460.

Bem, D. J. (1966). Inducing belief in false confessions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 3, 707-710.

Bem, D. J. (1967). Self-Perception: The dependent variable of human performance. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 2, 105-121.

Bem, D. J. (1967). Self-Perception: An alternative interpretation of cognitive dissonance phenomena. Psychological Review, 74, 183-200.

Bem, D. J. (1967). Reply to Judson Mills. Psychological Review, 74, 536-537.

Bem, D. J. (1968). The epistemological status of interpersonal simulations: A reply to Jones, Linder, Kiesler, Zanna, & Brehm. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 4, 270-274.

Bem, D. J., & Bem, S. L. (1968). Nativism revisited: A review of Eric H. Lenneberg's Biological Foundations of Language. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 11, 497-501.

Madaras, G., & Bem, D. J. (1968). Risk and conservatism in group decision making. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 9, 205-209.

Bandler, R., Madaras, G., & Bem, D. J. (1968). Self-observation as a source of pain perception. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 9, 205-209.

Bem, D. J. (1968). Dissonance reduction in the behaviorist. In R. P. Abelson, E. Aronson, W. J. McGuire, T. M. Newcomb, M. J. Rosenberg & P. H. Tannenbaum (Eds.), Theories of Cognitive Consistency: A Sourcebook. Chicago: Rand McNally.

Bem, D. J. (1968). Attitudes as self-descriptions: Another look at the attitude-behavior link. In A. G. Greenwald, T. C. Brock, & T. M. Ostrom (Eds.), Psychological Foundations of Attitudes. New York: Academic Press.

Publications 1970-1979:

Publications 1960-69 (Top of Page)
Publications 1980-1989
Publications 1990-1999
Publications 2000-

Bem, D. J. (1970). Beliefs, Attitudes, and Human Affairs. Belmont, Calif.: Brooks/Cole.

Bem, D. J., & McConnell, H. K. (1971). Testing the self-perception explanation of dissonance phenomena: On the salience of premanipulation attitudes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 14, 23-31.

Bem, D. J. (1971). The concept of risk in the study of human behavior. In R. E. Carney (Ed.), Risk-Taking Behavior: Concepts, Methods, and Applications to Smoking and Drug Abuse. Springfield, Ill.: Charles C. Thomas.

Holstein, C., Goldstein, J., & Bem, D. J. (1971). The importance of expressive behavior, involvement, sex, and need-approval in inducing liking. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 7, 534-544.

Bem, D. J. (1972). Self-perception theory. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, (Vol. 6, pp. 1-62). New York: Academic Press.

Bem, D. J. (1972). Constructing cross-situational consistences in behavior: Some thoughts on Alker's critique of Mischel. Journal of Personality, 40, 17-26.

Bem, S. L., & Bem, D. J. (1973). Does sex-biased job advertising "aid and abet" sex discrimination? Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 1, 6-18.

Bem, D. J. (1974). The cognitive alteration of feeling states: A discussion. In H. London & R. E. Nisbett (Eds.), Thought and Feeling. Chicago: Aldine.

Bem, D. J., & Allen, A. (1974). On predicting some of the people some of the time: The search for cross-situational consistencies in behavior. Psychological Review, 81, 506-520.

Bem, D. J. (1977). Predicting more of the people more of the time: Some thoughts on the Allen-Potkay studies of intraindividual variability. Journal of Personality, 45, 327-333.

Bem, D. J., & Funder, D. C. (1978). Predicting more of the people more of the time: Assessing the personality of situations. Psychological Review, 85, 485-500.

Bem, D. J., & Lord, C. G. (1979). Template-matching: A proposal for probing the ecological validity of experimental settings in social psychology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 833-846.

Publications 1980-1989:

Publications 1960-69 (Top of Page)
Publications 1970-1979
Publications 1990-1999
Publications 2000-

Bem, D. J. (1980). Assessing situations by assessing persons. In D. Magnusson (Ed.), Toward a Psychology of Situations: An Interactional Perspective. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum.

Bem, D. J. (1980). Assessing persons and situations with the template-matching technique. In L. Kahle (Ed.), New Directions in the Methodology of Behavior Research: Methods for Studying Person-Situation Interactions. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Bem, D. J. (1981). Writing the research report. In L. H. Kidder (Ed.), Selltiz, Wrightsman & Cook's Research Methods in Social Relations. (4th Ed.). New York: Holt.

Bem, D. J. (1982). Persons, situations and template matching: Theme and variations. In M. P. Zanna, C. P. Herman, & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Consistency in Social Behavior: The Ontario Symposium. Potomoc, Md.: Erlbaum.

Bem, D. J. (1983). Further deja vu in the search for cross-situational consistency: A response to Mischel and Peake. Psychological Review, 90, 390-393.

Bem, D. J. (1983). Toward a response style theory of persons in situations. In R. A. Dienstbier & M. M. Page (Eds.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation 1982: Personality--Current Theory and Research (Vol. 30). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

Bem, D. J. (1983). Constructing a theory of the triple typology: Some (second) thoughts on nomothetic and idiographic approaches to personality. Journal of Personality, 51, 566-577.

Bem, D. J. (1987). Writing the empirical journal article. In M. P. Zanna & J. M. Darley (Eds.), The compleat academic: A practical guide for the beginning social scientist (pp. 171-201). New York: Random House.

Caspi, A., Elder, G. H., Jr., & Bem, D. J. (1987). Moving against the world: Life-course patterns of explosive children. Developmental Psychology, 22, 303-308.

Bem, D. J. (1988) Review of N. Baruch (Ed.) "Scientific Aspects of Graphology: A Handbook." Contemporary Psychology, 33, 172.

Bem, D. J. (1988). Putting persons back into the context. In N. Bolger, A. Caspi, G. Downey, & M. Moorehouse (Eds.), Persons in context: Developmental processes (pp. 203-216). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Caspi, A., Elder, G. H., Jr., & Bem, D. J. (1988). Moving away from the world: Life-course patterns of shy children. Developmental Psychology, 24, 824-831.

Caspi, A., Bem, D. J., & Elder, G. H., Jr. (1989). Continuities and consequences of interactional styles across the life course. Journal of Personality, 57, 375-406.

Bem, D. J. (1989). Parapsychological data: A continuing projective test. Review of Stanley Krippner (Ed.) Advances in Parapsychological Research (Vol. 5.) Contemporary Psychology, 34, 649-650.

Publications 1990-1999

Publications 1960-69 (Top of page)
Publications 1970-1979
Publications 1980-1989
Publications 2000-

Atkinson, R., Atkinson, R. C., Smith, E. E., & Bem, D. J. (1990). Introduction to psychology (10th ed.). San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Caspi, A., & Bem, D. J. (1990). Personality continuity and change across the life course. In L. A. Pervin (Ed.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (pp. 549-575). New York: Guilford Press.

Bem, D. J. (1992). On the uncommon wisdom of our lay personality theory. Psychological Inquiry, 3, 82-84.

Bem, D. J. (1992). Review of R. S. Broughton, Parapsychology: The Controversial Science. Journal of Parapsychology, 56, 59-62.

Atkinson, R., Atkinson, R. C., Smith, E. E., & Bem, D. J. (1993). Introduction to psychology (11th ed.). San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Bem, D. J., & Honorton, C. (1994). Does psi exist? Replicable evidence for an anamolous process of information transfer. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 4-18.

Bem, D. J. (1994). Response to Hyman. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 27-27.

Bem, D. J. (1994). The Ganzfeld Experiment. Journal of Parapsychology, 57, 101-110.

Bem, D. J. (1994, August). Does Psi Exist? The World & I, 215-219.

Bem, D. J. (1995). Writing a review article for Psychological Bulletin. Psychological Bulletin, 118, 172-177.

Atkinson, Atkinson, Smith, E. E., Bem, D. J., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1996). Introduction to psychology (12th ed.). San Diego: Harcourt Brace.

Bem, D. J. (1996). Ganzfeld phenomena. In G. Stein (Ed.), Encyclopedia of the paranormal (pp. 291-296). Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books.

Bem, D. J. (1996). Exotic becomes erotic: A developmental theory of sexual orientation. Psychological Review, 103, 320-335.

Bem, D. J. (1996). Exotic becomes erotic: A political postscript. Unpublished manuscript, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.

Kerr, M., Lambert, W. W., & Bem, D. J. (1996). Life course sequelae of childhood shyness in Sweden: Comparison with the United States. Developmental Psychology, 32, 1100-1105.

Bem, D. J. (1997). The exotic-becomes-erotic theory of sexual orientation. In J. Corvino (Ed.), Same sex: Debating the ethics, science, and culture of homosexuality (pp. 121-134). New York: Rowman & Littlefield.

Bem, D. J. (1998). Is EBE theory supported by the evidence? Is it androcentric? A reply to Peplau et al. Psychological Review,105, 395-398.

Bem, D. J. (1997, August). Exotic becomes erotic: Explaining the enigma of sexual orientation. Invited address presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, Chicago.

Honorton, C., Ferrari, D. C., & Bem, D. J. (1999). Extraversion and ESP performance: A meta-analysis and a new confirmation. The Journal of Parapsychology, 62, 255-276.

Publications 2000-

Publications 1960-69 (Top of page)
Publications 1970-1979
Publications 1980-1989
Publications 1990-1999

Bem, D. J. (2000). Exotic Becomes Erotic: Integrating Biological and Experiential Antecedents of Sexual Orientation. In A. R. D'Augelli & C. J. Patterson (Eds.), Lesbian, gay, and bisexual identities and youth: Psychological perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press.

Atkinson, Atkinson, Smith, E. E., Bem, D. J., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2000). Introduction to psychology (13th ed.). Fort Worth: Harcourt College Publishers.

Bem, D. J. (2000). Writing an Empirical Article. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Guide to publishing in psychology journals. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Bem, D. J. (2000). Exotic Becomes Erotic: Interpreting the biological correlates of sexual orientation. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 29, 531-548.

Smith, E. E., Bem, D. J., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2001). Fundamentals of psychology. Fort Worth: Harcourt College Publishers.

Bem, D. J., Palmer, J., Broughton, R. S. (2001). Updating the Ganzfeld Database: A Victim of Its Own Success? Journal of Parapsychology, 65, 207-218.

Bem, D. J. (2001) Is half an interactional theory still an interactional theory? A review of Kauth's True Nature: A Theory of Sexual Attraction. The Journal of Sex Research, 38, 263-265.

Bem, D. J. (2003). Writing the empirical journal article. In J.M. Darley, M. P. Zanna, & H. L. Roediger III (Eds), The Compleat Academic. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
[An updated version of this article will be found here]

Bem, D. J. (2005). Review of G. E. Schwartz, The afterlife experiments: Breakthrough scientific evidence of life after death. Journal of Parapsychology, 69, 173-183.

Bem, D. J. (2004) Review of Sheldrake’s The sense of being stared at: And other aspects of the extended mind. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 18, 491-493.

Bem, D. J. (2005). Review of Schwartz’s The Afterlife Experiments: Breakthrough scientific evidence of life after death.  Journal of Parapsychology, 69, 173-183. 

Bem, D. J. (2006). Review of  Journal of Consciousness special issue: “Sheldrake and His Critics: The Sense of Being Stared At.”  Journal of Scientific Exploration, 20, 322-324.

Bem, D. J. (2008). Is there a causal link between childhood gender nonconformity and adult homosexuality? Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 12, 61-79. 

Bem, D. J., Utts, J., & Johnson, W. O. (2011). Must psychologists change the way they analyze their data? A response to Wagenmakers, Wetzels, Borsboom, & van der Maas (2011).

Bem, D. J. (2010). Response to Alcock's "Back from  the Future: Comments on Bem."

Other abstracts & articles available online

Bem Home Page

What is self

Self-perception theory (SPT) is an account of attitude formation developed by psychologist Daryl Bem. It asserts that people develop their attitudes (when there is no previous attitude due to a lack of experience, etc.

What is Daryl Bem's self

According to self-perception theory, when people are unsure of their own attitudes, one way to infer them is by looking at their behaviors. Daryl Bem proposed self-perception theory in 1967 when he argued that people sometimes analyze their own behavior in the same fashion as they would analyze someone else's behavior.

What is self

Self-perception theory says that people learn about their own attitudes and character traits by observing their own behavior. This mainly happens when we are unclear about our feelings toward something, and then go on to attribute our attitude or belief to some realization around our behavior.

When was Bem's self

Self-perception theory was first proposed by Daryl Bem in 19671 as an alternative account of cognitive dissonance, where certain circumstances lead to self-described attitudes that are a function of the individual's observations of their own behavior.